Am I a Warrior?

Saturday, October 1st: I wake up extremely early because, let's face it, I had butterflies from the second we left the house on Friday to get our hotel near the Warrior Dash (located in one of the oldest cities in the USA and the home of the 1st families of Virginia). I put my running attire and war paint on and we headed to Berkeley Plantation, the sight of Virginia's 2011 Warrior Dash. Being somewhat of a history junkie, I feel compelled to share with you the importance of this location from it's historical standpoint. Among the many American "firsts" that occurred at Berkeley Plantation are:

• The first official Thanksgiving: 4 December 1619
• The first bourbon whiskey distilled: 1621, by George Thorpe, an Episcopal priest.[4]
• First time Army bugle call "Taps" played: July 1862, by bugler Oliver W. Norton; the melody was written at Harrison's Landing on the plantation by then General, Daniel Butterfield.
• The first Warrior Dash of C.H., 1 October 2011

Pretty amazing, right? And who woulda thunk it? As we crossed over the James river and into the plantation grounds, you get the feeling that so much has happened here and we are merely walking amongst the ghosts of the past to forage new grounds and memories for the future. I may have been attempting to become a warrior that day, but real soldiers fought and earned that title in the bloodshed that happened here in 1622. Also the birthplace to a "Declaration of Independence" signor, home to President Harrison, and frequented by Lincoln during the Civil War, I felt that greatness was achieved at this place. So all of this set the stage as I got my registration packet and secured my timing chip to my shoe laces and was fresh on my mind.

Just before the race

As in most battles, there has to be a cry to conquer and this was the same for my own personal goal. As the MC for the event called out "FINISH STRONG" all Warrior competitors retorted "BRING IT ON!" The fire blazed and we began our journey. 

As I ran, all I could think of was that I was finally doing this. I set out months ago to accomplish this and here I was, actually doing it. I was already proud of myself the second I started. I knew the timing wouldn't matter or the pace I was setting. All I knew was that no matter what, I was going to do every obstacle and I was not going to stop for one second, or even consider walking part of it. I may have been the tortoise, but I delighted in seeing some people who had whizzed past me in the beginning burn out half way through as I stomped past them later in the dash. And these are the obstacles I conquered in the order they faced me:

1. Barricade Breakdown: hurdle over chest high wood and under barbed wire

2. Rubber Ricochet: Run through floating tires that can knock you on your feet if you don’t maneuver fast enough (fortunately, my ninja skills enabled me to pass this part scotch free)

3. Road Rage: Imagine jumping through tires football training style and then climbing atop broke down vehicles in this maze

4. Chaotic Crossover: A tangled web of ropes of which are 10 feet off the ground that you crawl parallel to the earth over. 

5. Deadweight Drifter: Chest deep in a small river that flows to the James River whilst attempting to hurdle over gigantic logs. It was a team effort here and I lost my shorts a few times (secretly wishing I had a smiley face tattoo on it to make the view worthwhile)!

6. Teetering Traverse:  Like a high beam, you had only the width of your foot to keep stable as you walk up, across and then down a teeter-tottering wooden device. 

7. Deadman’s Drop: Exactly as it sounds and definitely the most difficult obstacle on the course. You had to climb up a larger than life ladder, get yourself over an inverted plank, and then drop 5 feet, catch yourself on a piece of wood and then slide the rest of the 15 feet down. I was a bit scared with this one and sliding down that plywood gave me bruises you wouldn’t believe!

8. Great Warrior Wall: To test the warrior strength, this second hardest obstacle was a barricade of wood with inches to climb up and rope only at the top to help pull you up and over. WOOF!

9. Rio Run: Running as fast as you can through muddy, waist deep water = difficult and time consuming, but manageable 

10. Cargo Climb: depicted here

11. Warrior Roast: through the flames I went

12. Muddy Mayhem:  Barbed wire and mud. I felt like I was low-crawling in a Full Metal Jacket remake!

13.   The Finish Line:

Finish Strong? Bring it on!

As I passed the finish line, a wave of relief, adrenaline and emotion came over me. Here I was this past summer, an obese and gross feeling person. 3+ months later, I ran 3 . 56 miles and 12 obstacles that I know many would have trouble with. Do you ever feel good knowing you can do something and others can't? In a weird way, I relished the thought that day. Anyone can get the gumption to stop complaining, "should'ing" and self loathing, get off their keister and start changing their life, but for me, this run personified me actually making that change and doing something about it.  

Feeling great (and teary-eyed) about the mini-goal accomplishment

The adrenaline made me want to jump back in line and do it all over again. But good times were calling me with the support of my husband and blog follower/great friend, Anna & her husband *photo credits given to her for the event*

The day had started out a with light rain, chills and nervousness, but it ended with sun rays and blue skies and heat. I believe that's exactly how the day went for me. 

And for those who care about my finish time:

In my age group, I finished in the top 50%, almost in the top 30%. Overall, I finished at #960 out of 3,020 people (definite top 30 percentile overall). I think this is fantastic. I have been running 3.2 miles around the 42-45 min range and gave myself an hourish to add on the obstacles. I am happy to report that I added a quarter of a mile to my standard run and added in 12 obstacles and completed the course in 55:01 minutes. That is totally kick ass!

So, am I a warrior? You're DAMNED RIGHT I AM!

Love w/ all my bum,

CH